Annexes to COM(2014)537 - Annual Report on the EU's Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection Policies and their Implementation in 2013 - Main contents
Please note
This page contains a limited version of this dossier in the EU Monitor.
| dossier | COM(2014)537 - Annual Report on the EU's Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection Policies and their Implementation in 2013. |
|---|---|
| document | COM(2014)537  |
| date | August 28, 2014 |
This wide range of implementing partners enables the EU to cover a growing list of needs in different parts of the world, often in increasingly complex situations. Commission-managed grants and contributions are provided through selecting the best proposals received. The 2013 breakdown for humanitarian agreements signed was:
· 48 % of actions carried out by NGOs (115 partners)
· 42 % by UN agencies (16 partners)
· 9 % by international organisations (3 partners)
· 1% as a direct contract of ECHO flight (2 partners).
In 2013, the Commission had 321 staff members working at its ECHO headquarters in Brussels. In addition to be able to respond to disasters in non-EU countries, the Commission maintained its unique network of ECHO field experts deployed throughout the world. 149 field experts and 315 local staff made a total of 464 people working in the Commission’s 39 ECHO field offices as of 31 December 2013. Their main responsibility was to carry out needs assessments immediately following a disaster, to monitor the implementation of EU-funded humanitarian projects.
From the security point of view, the Commission took further steps to strengthen its own security and financial management systems. This was accomplished both at headquarters and in the field through improved coordination and collaboration with humanitarian partners, by monitoring and visiting projects, and by carrying out ex-ante controls, audits and evaluations.
Humanitarian aid and civil protection policy
At policy level, several initiatives of strategic importance were developed in 2013. Policy priorities in the field of humanitarian aid were aid effectiveness, result-orientation and impact. These were defined management priorities for both the revision of ECHO's Framework Partnership Agreements and the setting up of the new Delegation Agreements for Indirect Management.
Among the main activities were the development of clear guidance on thematic and cross-cutting issues such as resilience, disaster risk reduction, WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene), gender, nutrition and others, and targeted dissemination, training strategies and monitoring of project implementation. These activities help ensure that the needs of the most vulnerable crisis-affected population are addressed efficiently and effectively. Furthermore, concrete efforts were undertaken to guide and foster the implementation of the Commission's Resilience Communication and the linkage between humanitarian and development actions.
A revised Civil Protection legislation was agreed in 2013. This will further improve the planning of European disaster response operations and ensure more effective, efficient and coherent disaster management in the years to come. Among other things, the new legislation enables the creation of a voluntary pool of Member States' assets (teams, equipment) available for immediate deployment as part of a joint European intervention. Prevention and preparedness are also covered by the revised legislation.
A political agreement on the regulation for the establishment of the EU Aid Volunteers programme was achieved at the end of 2013. The objective of the EU Aid Volunteers initiative is to contribute to strengthening the EU's capacity to provide needs-based humanitarian aid aimed at preserving life, preventing human suffering, and strengthening resilience of vulnerable or disaster-affected communities, particularly by means of disaster preparedness, disaster risk reduction, and by enhancing the link between relief, rehabilitation and development.
In December 2013, the High Representative and the Commission issued the Joint Communication on "The EU's Comprehensive Approach to External Conflict and Crisis" setting out a number of concrete steps that the EU, collectively, should take in the areas of early warning and preparedness, conflict prevention, crisis response and management to early recovery, stabilisation and peace-building. While in this context Commission services, including ECHO, coordinate closely with the EEAS, the specific nature of humanitarian aid (being based on the humanitarian principles and on the needs of the affected population) is fully recognised.
Enhancing coherence and coordination between the EU and its Member States in response to a disaster or protracted crisis is a key issue for improving the efficiency of the overall EU aid contribution. Since 2009 coordination with Member States has mainly taken place in the Council Working Party on Humanitarian Aid and Food Aid (COHAFA) in which the Commission takes part. On a strategic level, COHAFA contributes significantly to the coherence and complementarity of the EU’s and its Member States’ humanitarian aid activities. As in previous years, in 2013 an annual exchange took place on the policies/strategies, information and analysis produced by the Commission. In 2013, the Commission also increased its efforts to follow and contribute to the work of European Parliament committees. The European Parliament was briefed about policy initiatives and priorities, as well as about the Commission’s response to specific crises.
In December 2012, the Commission had launched a public consultation to gather stakeholders’ views on the challenges, objectives and options for further enhancing the effectiveness and impact of EU humanitarian aid. It took into account the changing global context at the outset of the 21st century. The "Fit for Purpose" stakeholder consultation was closed in March 2013 with 55 responses, which represented over a hundred stakeholders. As a follow-up, a stakeholder conference was organised in June 2013 bringing together nearly a hundred participants. The results of the consultation are planned to feed into the respective policy areas such as resilience, innovation and civil protection.
International cooperation is vital in the ever more challenging humanitarian landscape. Throughout 2013, the EU continued to speak out in multilateral forums. Taking a leading role in the Transformative Agenda, the EU has aimed to enhance the collective humanitarian response through improved global coordination, leadership and accountability. Embracing the motto "Acting together for those in need", the EU through the Commission chaired the OCHA Donor Support Group (ODSG) starting in July 2013 (the mandate lasts until July 2014). The ODSG is an important mechanism for humanitarian donor consultation on the activities of the United Nations' Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
The roll-out of the humanitarian food assistance policy was also pursued during the year. The EU's commitment to effective humanitarian food assistance is demonstrated through the work on the Food Assistance Convention (FAC). Consolidating the pivotal role it played in negotiating the FAC, the EU aims to take a leading role in the implementation of the FAC. The policy direction of the FAC has seen a shift from food aid to food assistance, promoting cash-based assistance, where appropriate, and using the Convention as a platform to push forward the policy agenda and innovative ideas and approaches in international forums.
The Commission also remained committed to supporting the development and strengthening of the collective global humanitarian preparedness and response capacity. In 2013, EUR 21 million was made available for enhanced humanitarian response capacity programmes, to support 18 new capacity building projects for up to two years. These were undertaken within UN agencies, NGOs and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. The programmes focused on:
· Enhanced global humanitarian architecture: emphasis was put on the strengthening of the humanitarian response system, for example through encouraging synergies between partners and pooling of resources and tools (such as rapid response teams) to back-up mainstreamed cluster-lead agency functions.
· Food assistance and nutrition: to support initiatives which further the implementation of the European Humanitarian Food Assistance Policy and coordination in this respect.
Conclusion
Throughout 2013, the EU responded effectively to the ever increasing need for emergency response and relief aid worldwide, reaching out to over 120 million people. Maintaining the high aid levels of 2012 (over EUR 1.3 billion[22]), the EU responded to all major emergencies (Syria, Central African Republic, Philippines, Sahel, etc.) and underpinned the EU's role as the leading global donor of humanitarian assistance.
The number of disasters continues to increase globally; a trend set to continue with climate change. This calls for ever more efficient humanitarian action. Reinforced by the context of economic crisis, further effort has been carried out to make every euro count. This has not only meant ensuring that the right aid reaches those most in need at the right time, but also finding ways of doing more with less. In 2013, significant emphasis was placed on increasing speed and efficiency and cutting out duplication of processes and actions.
Important progress was made on civil protection action, including the opening of the Emergency Response Coordination Centre (ERCC) and the adoption of the new EU civil protection legislation which greatly reinforces collaboration among Member States in disaster response. The emergency in the Philippines in particular exemplified the successful combination of humanitarian assistance and civil protection operations, and close collaboration between the Commission and the Member States. In the immediate aftermath of the disaster, all Member States reacted positively to the requests for assistance which were coordinated by the ERCC and complemented by the prompt humanitarian and other assistance provided by the EU.
General information on ECHO can be found at the following address:
http://ec.europa.eu/echo/index_en.htm
Financial information on the Commission’s 2013 performance on humanitarian aid and civil protection can be found at the following address:
http://ec.europa.eu/echo/funding/key_figures/echo_en.htm
Operational information from previous years can be found at the following address:
http://ec.europa.eu/echo/about/annual_reports_en.htm
[1] According to the most recent (2013) data available (Global Humanitarian Assistance: http://www.globalhumanitarianassistance.org).
[2] EUR 1 326 million for humanitarian aid and EUR 27 million for civil protection (EUR 20 million inside the EU, EUR 7 million outside de EU).
[3] Of which 106 million people were helped through humanitarian aid and food assistance and 18 million people through disaster preparedness programmes.
[4] Regulation (EU) No 375/2014 on the EU Aid Volunteers initiative was adopted on 3 April 2014. Around 18 000 individuals will participate in the initiative from 2014-2020, through deployments of EU citizens as volunteers, training of people from non-EU disaster affected countries and online volunteering opportunities. More information: http://ec.europa.eu/echo/en/what/humanitarian-aid/eu-aid-volunteers
[5] The EU Civil Protection Mechanism (EUCPM) was in 2013 made up of 32 states (28 EU Member States plus the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway), which cooperate in the field of civil protection and was created to support their efforts to prevent, prepare for and respond to natural or man-made disasters either within or outside of the EU. The assistance can take the form of in-kind assistance, equipment and teams, or involve sending experts to carry out assessments. It relies on government resources and, if assistance is required in countries outside the EU, it usually works in parallel with humanitarian aid. The operational heart of EUCPM is the Emergency Response Coordination Centre (ERCC) accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Any country inside or outside the EU affected by a disaster and overwhelmed by its magnitude can make an appeal for assistance through the ERCC.
[6] www.cred.be.
[7] www.unisdr.org.
[8] According to the same sources, in 2012 there were 310 natural disasters of variable magnitude.
[9] Council Regulation (EC) No 1257/96 of 20 June 1996 concerning humanitarian aid.
[10] The Consensus is a joint declaration of the European Commission, the Council of the EU and the European Parliament that sets out a common vision aimed to improve the coherence, effectiveness and quality of the EU's humanitarian response.
[11] Article 214 (6) TFEU
[12] AGIR - the Global Alliance for Resilience Initiative
[13] DIPECHO (Disaster Preparedness ECHO) is a specific programme dedicated to disaster preparedness. It targets highly vulnerable communities living in some of the most disaster-prone regions of the world.
[14] The Commission provided multi-sectorial humanitarian assistance to refugees and host-communities in neighbouring countries as well as to affected populations inside Syria with shelter/NFIs, food, wash, health and protection being the main sectors.
[15] ENPI – European neighborhood policy instrument; DCI – Development cooperation instrument; IFS – Instrument for stability; IPA – Instrument for pre-accession assistance
[16] Regulation (EU) No 230/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 2014 establishing an instrument contributing to stability and peace
[17] Linking Relief, Rehabilitation and Development
[18] This breakdown is simplified in that it associates projects to one single sector. In practice, most projects are linked to more than one sector. For instance, the figure for disaster preparedness (DP) (5.49 %) refers to those projects financed by the EU primarily linked to DP. Nevertheless, if we take into account all the contracts including significant DP components but for which the main sector of intervention is not DP, we reach a total of 15 %.
[19] SHARE - Supporting Horn of African Resilience
[20] For civil protection, the figures in the table are not broken down by country/region.
[21] One operation is delivered directly, namely the ECHO Flight programme in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Kenya to provide logistical support in a region prone to access problems.
[22] Commission only, not including EU Member States contributions.